Recreational rebound net



July 1l 1961 H. BINGHAM, JR

RECREATIoNAL REBOUND NET Filed Nov. 29, 1957 Unted States Patent lIn myUs. 'ra-rem Number 2,823,034 @autres Recrea tion Enclosure there isdescribed a novel recreationenclosure which will permit one or morepersons `vto 'engage 'in various lsports or physical A4a ':tivitie's andespecially sports, games, or 'other-physical activities involvingV theuse of a ballor the like. Morev particularly that invention relates'to anovel recreation enclosure constructed oni the sides and top of wire orwire-like material, saide'nclosure beingsupportedupon a snbstantiallyfatbase or floor, and there being included within said enclosure aresilient means for absorbing, slowing down, darnpening vdeti'ecting,bouncing, or otherwise acting against the force 'of the ball which isused by the player or players within the enclosure.

I have devised a new 'recreatiorral Yrebound net which I 'believe hascertain advantages under certain circumstances as compared with saidresilient deecti-ng means. The novel recreationalrebound net of thepresent invention is preferably used by placing it in a caged recreationienclosmeof the type described in my aforesaid patent `and is preferablydisposed and suspended in such '1a-'caged enclosure in substantially thesame fv'vay that the resilient deflecting means of rrriy aforesaid`t'afttent can be suspended within such a caged enclosure. The novelrecreational "rebolindnetof the present 'invention alsofibe used"separate and apart from a caged enclosure.

It is therefore an object of this inventronto provide a novel and usefulrecreational rebound net which can be used which will enable one toengage in games and physical activities within a limited area.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel and usefulrecreational rebound net which will permit participants in a sport toexert the same strenuous physical effort that they would exert werethere no space limitations.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a novel and usefulrecreational rebound net which will enable a person to engage in a sportinvolving the use of a resilient ball without the necessity of havingany other person present.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a combinedenclosure and recreational rebound net which will enable a person orpersons to strike a ball within the enclosure and to thereafter beassured that the ball, after being deflected off of the recreation-alrebound net, will return to the approximate area of the player.

Various other features, objects, and advantages of the invention willappear from the description of one species or embodiment hereinafterdescribed land shown in the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is fragmentary side view of a recreational enclosure showing aside view of the recreational rebound net of this invention suspendedwithin the recreational enclosure. This view also shows a fragmentaryview of a man so as to provide some idea of relative size.

FIGURE 2 is a full end View of the recreational rebound net of thisinvention (as Viewed from the right end of FIGURE 1) shown disposed inan upright vertical position adjacent to one end of a cage-typerecreation enclosure, the end of the cage-type enclosure having an endsection defined by posts 51, 52 and 53, door section 54, lower sideboard 55, wire backing 60 covering the back end, wire backing 70 on thesides and top and clamping means 80 to fasten the wire backing 60 and 70to the posts 51, 52 and 53 and other supporting structure.

Referring now to FIGURE 2., it can be seen that the may be fastened tothe adjacent "edges ofthe netti 'edges the ynettingo'r bythe use offastening or br ICC recreational rebound 'net of this invention afour-sided frame havingupper and lower'ig-id fra'rne members 20 and 22,respectively fand side'f 'nie members 2'4 and Z6. As is shown the'fraineinernbe'rs'alr'e connected at their ends 'to form a vrigid framestructure. The frame members may consist of `any suitable" co structionrnaterial such asrnetallic piping, wooden bars and the length of Ieachframe willprrrnarily depend upon the size of thecaged enclosure' 'inWhichtlie recreational rebound net 'is to be used, 'although it haslbeen found preferable to have -the length o'f "the farre members rangebetween 6 and 1,2 feet.

Each 0f the frame members 20, 272, 24 and 26'S nected to the`'substa'n'tially parallel'and -interiorly dis' transverse members 30,32, v34, and 36 resp"ectijirelyV gbyfa plurality of springs S.Transverse members 30, '32, "34 and 36 are not directly fastened toeachother andmay consist of Wooden or metallic bars, pipes or 'rods(1although aluminum is preferred because of "its llightness andstrength). The transverse members rn'ayb'e'fas ned to the adjacent edgesof the netting 'material 100 'in any desired manner. For example, thetransverse terial by merely passing Phe transf4 the last row of holes inthe nettingg i the transverse members Vthrough rings attached along theket means, or by Vtying the transverse vvren'bers to -the Val'tlja.-cent Yedges ofthe netting.Y

The springs S between thefranre members arid th' verse members may be ofany desired' si'z andi A sired'number, The strength, and designofthefs'prings S ina'y be radilylteed 'to slit'v'ar'yi'rg of "use. 'Ilhesprings are preferably as short as possible so as to minimize thepossibility of a ball passing therethrough, although longer springs canbe used. Springs are preferably attached to all four sides, but -it ispossible to use springs only on two or three sides if desired.

The netting material 100 preferably rnade of nylon or cotton, althoughother equivalent materials may be used. The tension of the nettingmaterial can lbe varied by changing the size of the netting or bychanging the pulling strength of the springs S, or by fastening thelongitudinal members closer to or further from the center of thenetting.

The frame structure defined by frame members 20, 22, 24 and 26 ispreferably suspended from above by two or more chains 40. The lower endsof suspension chains 40 are preferably Iattached to the upper corners ofthe frame structure (e.g. at opposite ends of frame member 20) and theupper ends of suspension chains 40 are either attached to a pointadjacent the top of the caged enclosure in which the rebound net is tobe used or to the upper sides or back of such a caged enclosure or toiany equally high point of attachment. 'Iihe recreational rebound netmay be disposed in a perfectly vertical position but in most instancesit is more desirable to dispose the rebound net at an angle ranging froml to 4() degrees away from the vertical. Chains, ropes or springs may beemployed to either maintain the rebound net ina vertical position or toincline it away from the vertical to the desired degree; such chains,ropes or springs having one end fastened to a frame member (e.g. sidesor bottom) and the other end fastened to the back, bottom, sides or topof the cagetype recreation enclosure. The angle may easily be changedfor various games and activities. Suitable springs, swinging brackets,ropes, etc., could replace chains 40. Detailed drawings have not beenpresented showing the numerous possible ways which one might employ fordisposing the recreational rebound net within a caged enclosure sincewith this disclosure before anyone skilled in the art could easilydevise many suitable arthe exercise of invention.

The recreational rebound net of this invention has a number ofadvantages over the resilient deecting means described and shown in myaforesaid patent. The recreational rebound net of this invention can rstof all be carried into 4and removed from lany enclosure in a quick andconvenient manner, thus avoiding the problem of det-aehing the nettingfrom numerous fastening points, rolling, unrolling, etc. Also theswinging of the entire frame deadens the force of any ball hit against aframe member, which ball might otherwise rebound in a dangerous manner.Since the rebound net can be easily moved from place to place it can beused or stored in nearly any recreation room or garage. The presentinvention eliminates the need for Weight or the fastening of the net tothe oor. Since the entire frame structure can be swung back and forth,it is easy to recover a ball which goes behind or under it.

In conclusion, it should then be understood that various details ofconstruction may be varied through a wide range without departing fromthe principles of this invention, and it is, therefore, not the purposeto limitthe patent granted herein otherwise than necessitated by thescope of the appended The transverse members 30, 32, 34, and .36 may beloosely fastened or tied together at the ends preferably in such a Waythat they can be easily separated. To tighten or loosen Ilthe netting(100) one or more of the bars are removed from one row of squares of thenetting and moved into 'a row of squares closer or further from theframe members 20, 22, 24 and 26. The tension on the netting will lthenbe increased or decreased when the springs are replaced.

I claim:

In the combination of a recreational enclosure com- 4 prising at leastfour sides and a top portion consisting at least partly of wire mesh, -asubstantially ilat floor portion said enclosure, and a resilient meansdisposed across a substantial portion of said enclosure adjacent tov oneend thereof, the improvement which comprises a novel type'ofrecreational rebound net as said resilient means, said recreationalrebound net comprising,

(a) an `outer substantially rigid rectangular four-sided frame;`

(b) the four sides of said frame being connected by a plurality ofsprings to four interiorly disposed rigid elongated members; v

(c) said four interiorly disposed rigid elongated members-,beingseparated from one another;

(d) :each of said four separate rigid elongated members ,beinggirmlyattached to a substantial portion of one side of a four-sided expanse ofnetting material, and

(e) each of said four separate rigid elongated members being disposed insubstantially parallel relationship with respect to one side lof thefour-sided frame to which it is connected.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS GreatBritain Feb. 16, 1955

